Automatic magazine-firearm



4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(-No Model.)

A. BURGESS. AUTOMATIC MAGAZINE FIRBARM.

Patnted Ma. 31, 1896.

No Model.) 4 sheets-sheet 2.

A BURGBSS AUTOMATIC MAGAZINE FIREARM.

Patented Mar. 31, 1896.

All

/A Q Nl 4 Sheets-Sheet 3,.

(No Model.)

A BURGESS AUTOMATIC MAGAZINE FIREARM..

Patented Mar. 31, 1896.

(No Model.) 4 sheets-s115554.

A. BURGBSS.- AUTOMATIC `MAGAZINE FIRBARM.

No. 557,359. Patented M51. 31, 1896.

UNITED STATES-` PATENT Errori.

ANDREW BURGEss, or BUFTALO, New YORK.

AUTOMATIC MAGAZIN EFIREARNI.

SPECIFICATION formingv part of Letters Patent No. 557,359, dated March31, 1896.

Application filed January 16, 1893. Serial No. 45 8,435. A(No-modem Toall whom t may concern.-

Beit known that I, ANDREW BURGESS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented a new and'useful Improvement in Magazine and AutomaticFirearms, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to magazine and automatic firearms, and has for itsobject ease and simplicity of manipulation; and it consists inconnecting a reciprocating barrel or breechpiece to a movablerecoil-receiving piece or butt-plate, which operates through the recoilto openthe breech; also devices for locking the breech part and barrelpart together and unlocking them; devices for cooking the hammer andfeeding the cartridges, and method and means of loading the cartridgesinto the magazine, together with other arrangements and combinations ofparts hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed. s

ln the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the rear part of ashoulder-gun, parts being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a similarviewl of the front part of the same gun. Fig'. 3 is a longitudinalvertical section of the breech portion of the gun (omitting stock) andshowing breech closed. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showingbreech open. Fig. 5 is a cross-section on 'the line 0c of Fig. 3. Fig. 6is an enlarged cross-section on line z z of Fig. 2/and a detail beingalso shown in full and dotted linesf Fig. 7 is a side elevation of themagazine-loading device; and Fig. 8, across-section on line y y, Fig. 7.Fig. 9 is a broken side elevation and partial section of modified devicefor moving the cartridge-follower. Fig. 10 is a sectional View of amodification of this gun in which a recoil-lever takes the place of thetelescoping butt-plate, and Fig. 1.1 shows the outside of themodification of Fig. 10 with the breech open and mechanism indicated indotted lines.

In the drawings, 1 is the barrel; 2, the frame; 3, the butt-plate; 4,the locking-piece, and 5 the operating rod or link. j

The frame is carried forward in the hollow extension 6, which isprovided with the ribs 7, entering corresponding grooves 8 in the barrelportion to thereby confine and guide the barrel to a longitudinalmovement in the frame. A rod or link 5 has its forward end connected tothe barrel m convenient Iranner, as by the turned-up lug 9 on the rod orlink entering between lugsi9 on the barrel, and this rod extendsbackward through the stock of the gun to be attached to the buttplate,and thus connect the butt-plate with the barrel.

I show the rod 5 forked at its forward end; but that is not essential. A

The butt-plate is hollow and arranged on the rear of the stock to slideover-or .tele scope on the rear end of said stock to receive the recoilin a well-known manner, and has springs to press it backward.

The locking-piece 4, Figs. 2, 3', and 4, is;

pivoted to the barrel portion of the gun at 13 and has notches or hooks10 lto engage notches 11 of both sides of the frame, anda spring 12 isconnected-to the locking-piece to throw it into such engagement, asshown in Figs. 2 and 4.

The lower part of the locking-piece 4 is made heavy and constitutes aninertiapiece to bring the principal wight of the locking-piece below itspivot, and said locking-piece is also checked, so it may serve as ahandle. I also show an auxiliary sliding inertia-piece 4 inFigs. 2, 3,and 4, which may be used alone when desirable. f

A hole 14 extends through the. wa1l of the .V

barrel, the outer end/of said hole being near a recess l5 in thelocking-piece. The passage of gas through this' hole tends tolunlock thelocking-piece` directly after the cartridge is ignited.

The hammer is hung inthe frame and provided with a mainspring, as usual,and a spring-Sear 16 is hooked at its rear end to engage a notch in thehammer when in cocked position. The hammer is turned to cockit by a spuror shoulder 17 on the bar 5, which engages the projection 18 on thehammer below its pivot. Whensaid bar 5 moves foi"- ward to turn the topof the hammer back to the position shown in Fig. 4, the spur 17 willthen ride under the projection 18 of the hammer, which will remaincocked by being held by the h ook of scar 16.

A projection 19 on the trigger bears against the bar 5 when the breechis open, as in Fig.

IOIO

shall be closed, as seen in Fig'. 3, the bar moves rearward of thepoint-,'19, so the'trigger is then free to move, back and turn the searand lire the gun in the usual manner.

The carrier 20 is pivoted in the frame at its rear end to lugsprojecting downward from the top tang, and the forward concave part ofthe carrier extends under the magazine when the breech is closed, andits extreme front end strikes the projection 21 of the springcartridge-stop to turn it and release a cartridge from the magazine.

A spur 23 on the bar 5 engages the carrier below its pivot, as seen inFig. 4, when the breech is,open to raise the carrier, and the carrier islowered by the incline24 of the barrel which engages the inclined faceof the carrier when the breech begins to close.

It will be seen in Fig. 4 that the cartridgestopis pivoted at the bottomof the magazine. Said stop has a downward projection 21 and has a hook22 entering behind the cartridges to hold them in; but when said stop iscarried back by the barrel in closing the breech the cartridge-stop isrocked by the inclined end of the carrier engaging therewith, and thecartridge next the stop is released and assumes the position shown inFig. 3. f

In firing, the gas produces pressure through the opening 14 in thebarrel to act against the incline 15 of the locking-,piece and, if thecharge and pressure are great, will alone unlock it; but with lessressure it may require the assistance of the rst part of the recoil ofthe' gun, which starts the body of the gun back; but the inertia of theheavy lowerpart of the locking-piece (or the inertia-piece 4") resiststhe backward movement and turns said locking-piece on its pivottocomplete the unlocking of the breech. The further action of the recoilof the gun being resisted. by the butt-plate or recoil-piece which isattached to the barrel. the frame and stock part of the gun only is freeand then moves back by the `recoil to throw the breech open, and thesprings `25 and 26 between the recoil and nonrecoil portions of the gunbear the parts in reverse direction, to close the lbreech.

It is obvious that the gas-pressure may be used without the inertialocking-.piece or inertia alone serve the purpose of unlocking thebreech,- and the locking-piece, as shown, may be used as a handle, whenthe forward pressure of the hand-on its lower part will turn and'unlockit-and'move it forward to open the breech andit`s'-backwardmovement jthe magazine where it joins the bottom of the barrel extends forwardofthe loading-hole 28, f and a bar '29 engages the follower through saidslot .to move it forward,;as shown )in Fig. 9. The loading-hole isprotectedvby a pivoted vcover '30, which springs in to gri p themagazine and hold it closed, as in Fig. 2.; but its forward .end may bepulled down, as vshown in Fig. 9, when it forms an apron or guide intothe loading-hole suitable to receive a loading-tube, as 32, adapted tocarry the cartridges and which may drop them all into the magazine,rearward of the follower, at one movement, and the cover maybe thenpushed upward to close the opening.

Methods of forcing forward the follower through a slot in the magazineare well kn own, and an outer or inner tube has been used to close theslot.

The side of the magazine-tube M is slotted.

. (See especially Fig. 6.) A metallic ribbon 34 has its edges in theguide-grooves at the edges of the slot. This ribbon 34 is bent incross-S section, as clearly shown in Fig. 6, except near the ends. (SeeFig. 2.) A slide-piece 29 is connected to 'the ribbon 34 by a pin 35extending into the internal groove in the riy bon 34. The s1ide-piece29has a button or push-piece 33 attached. The slide-piece 2,9 has itsedges embraced in the groove in th magazine-tube above the edges of theribbon 34. The slide-piece 29 turns into the slot so as to extend overthe end of the follower, as shown in Fig. 9.

To draw back the follower and compress the sprinr the slide-piece 29 ispushed toward the muzz e, ribbon 34 sliding when the pin 35 engages theends ofthe groove.`

In theI modification, Fig. 9, the ribbon 34 is attached to theslide-piece 29 and is projected from th'e front of the magazine when thefollower is pressed back, coiling itself -into position something likethat shown in Fig. 9.

When the slide-piece 29 is drawn toward the breech of the gun, theribbon 34 closes the slot in the magazine.

' Another modification is shown in Figs. 7

and 8, which is especially applicable to a short magazine: Alongitudinal dovetail groove 37 is made in the forward part of thebarrel and drawing the follower with it, the` IOC IIO

a rib 38 of the bar 29 enters said groove to A hold and guide the bar inits forward and back movement, and by carrying the groove 37 forward tothe muzzle of the barrel the bar will move the follower ahead of theloadinghole, projecting but little, if any, beyond the barrel. l. 1 f

A further modification is shown inthis connection and withthe cove-r 30in Fig. 11. The bar is guided bya slot in the barrel, as just describedandv shown in Figs. 7 and 8, and the device to cover the magazine-slotconsists of a thin spring-casing 39 on the outside of the magazineftube.The casing is open at its top and the edges of its opening abut againstthe barrel and one edge covers the s ,lot in the before, when theincline 40 will hold the bar forward and the casing will spring back tocover the magazine-slot on moving back the bar.

Figs. 10 and l1 show a modification or reversal of the locking deviceand also a modification of the device for operatingthe breech in whichmultiplying-levers are used and a projection from the stock of a pistolis made to serve as a recoil-piece, in the manner of the butt-plateofFig. l. The locking-piece 4 is pivoted to the frame extension-6 andhas a brace 4l at its rear to swing up, forward of the locking-abutmentsl2; on both sides of the barrel to-v` lock' the breech, as in dottedlines, Fig. 10, or swing'down, as in Fig. 1l, to allow the barrel tomove forward. The heavy lower part of the locking-piece serves as aninertia-piece to unlock by its inertia, as before, and the pressure fromfiring may operate through the opening 14 in the barrel on the incline15, as before described. The bar 5 is attached to the barrel and is hereconnected to the lever 43,*whieh is operated by the lever 4:4 throughits projecting hand or recoil piece 45. Springs 25 and 26 are arrangedto turn the levers and close the breech.,

It is obvious that the butt-plate, in place of telescopin g on thebutt-stock, may be fixed to said stock, which would then telescope withthe frame in an equivalent and well-known manner. Then the frame onlywould move. back and operate precisely as the frame and stock portion,as described.

I claiml. In a gun, the combination of a recoil, piece at the rear end,a connection from said recoil-piece to the barrel, and the frame andbreech-piece moving rearwardly between the barrel and the recoil-pieceunder the influence of recoil, substantially as described.

2. In a gun, the recoil-piece at the rear, the breech-piece between, andthe barrel, and lever connections from the recoil-piece to the barrelwhereby the movement of the barrel may be increased relatively to themovement of the recoil-piece orthe breech-piece.

3. In a gun, the breech-'piec`e,jthe movable butt-plate in position onthe stock to restagainst the person of the gunnerand thus serve as arecoil-piece, and the barrel connected to the. butt-plate 4by a link,whereby the barrel is moved forward by the-impulse of recoil, allcombined substantially as described.

4. In a gun, the breech-piece,zthe recoilpiece and barrel connected by alever so that the barrel is moved forward by the im'pulse of recoil, andthe spring acting to return the barrel against the breech-piece, allcombined substantially as described.

5. In a gun, the breech-piece and the barrel, a recoil-piece operativelyconnected to the barrel to move thej same away from the breech-pieceunder the impulse of recoil,

means for retaining the barrel, and breech` piece in their closedrelation, and an inertiapiece, connected to said locking means, andacting to give a final impulse to the unlocking under the impulse ofrecoil, all combined substantially as described.

6. In a gun, the barrel, breech-piece, and recoil mechanism operativelyconnected substantially as described, the locking mechanism engaging thebreech-piece and barrel, and the pivoted inertia-piece forming anoperating-handle and acting on the locking mechanism to give an impulseof unlocking, all combined substantially as described.

7. In a gun, the breech-piece, the longitudinally-sliding barrel, the`recoil-plate and mechanism connecting said plate to the barrel, meansfor locking said parts in their closed relation, means operated bypressure from the bore of the gun for unlocking the barrel from thebreech, and the inertia-piece acting on said locking means to give thefinal unlocking impulse,all combined substantially as described.

S. In a magazine-gun,the barrel,tl1`e breechpiece, the recoil-piececonnected to the barrel, the pivoted cartridge-carrier, and a projectionon the barrel and recoil-piece connection, acting on the carrier to tiltthe same as the barrel and breech are separated, all combinedsubstantially as described.

9. In a magazine-gun, the barrel, breech, and recoil-piece cdnnected totheharrel, the hammer, and a projection on the connectingpiece betweenthe barrel and recoil-piece by which said hammer is cocked, all combinedsubstantially as described. k

10. In a magazine-gun, the tubular magazine having a side openingtherein, a pivoted cover to said opening adapted to swing outwardly, anda stop by which the' outward movement of said cover is limited, wherebythe cover is made to act as a loading-guide, l

and retain the loading-tube in position between the gate and forwardpart of the magazine, all combined substantially 1s-described.

1,1. In a magazine-gun, the tubular magazine having a side slot, themetallic ribbon having side supports and covering said slot, and meansfor moving said ribbon lengthwise of said slot, all combinedsubstantially as described.

l2. In a magazine-gun, the magazine having a side slot and a guideway inproximity thereto, the metallic ribbon supported in said guideway, andthe cover-piece having telescopic connection to said ribbon, allcombined substantially as described.

13. In a magazine-gum, the tubular magazine having a longitudinal slot,the dovetail grooves at the side of said slot, the metallic ribbonhaving its edges in said dovetail grooves, Vand the slide-piececonnected to said ribbon, all combined substantially as described. f

14. In a gun, the recoil-piece, barrel, and breech-piece operativelyconnected substantially as described, the means for locking the partsin-relatively-iixed position, and the bar- IIO rel-opening in proximityto said locking means, to permit the passage of gas from lthe bore ofsaid locking means, whereby the same maybe unlocked, all combinedsubstantially as described. .y

l5. In a vmagazine-gun, the frame, breech, and pivoted carrier having anabutment at its front, and the sliding barrel having an incline at itsrear in position to engage and depress saidA carrier as the barrelcloses backward, all combined substantially as described.

16. In a magazine-gun, the barrel, breech, l

recoil-piece, and a connecting-piece from the recoil-piece tothe barrel,the magazine and cartridge detenta-trip operatively connected to therecoil-piece, all combined substantially as described.

17. In a gun, the breech-piece, the longitudinally-sliding barrel, therecoilplate and mechanism connecting said plate to the barrel, means forlocking the breech-piece and barrel together, and means operated bypres-l ANDREW" BURGESS. Witnesses: l EDWARD G. FELTHOUSEN, THEO. L.PoPP.

